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If you’re searching for a St. Patrick’s Day supper recipe (or a hearty meal to warm your spirits), this is a delicious alternative to the traditional pot of corned beef and cabbage, especially if you’re a “meat pie” lover like me.

The recipe is from Jamie Oliver’s terrific cookbook “Jamie at Home”, which coincides with his show on Food Network. The episode with this recipe is called “Pastry”, in case you haven’t seen it yet.

This dish is now a St. Paddy’s Day tradition in our house, and it’s always a hit with friends and family.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a large ovenproof pan, heat a glug of olive oil on a low heat. Add the onions and fry them gently for about ten minutes – try not to color them too much.

Turn up the heat add the garlic, butter, carrots, celery, jalapenos and scatter in the mushrooms. Mix everything together before stirring in the beef, rosemary, a pinch of slat and a level teaspoon of pepper.

Fry fast for 3 or 4 minutes, then pour in one bottle of Guinness, stir in the flour and add just enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan with a lid and place in the preheated oven for about one (1) and 1/2 hours.

Remove the pan from the oven and give the stew a stir. Put it back in to the oven and continue to cook it for another hour or until the meat is very tender and the stew is rich dark and thick.(I added another half bottle of Guinness at this point).

Jamie notes: “A perfect pie filling needs to be robust, so if it’s still quite liquidy, place the pan on the hob (stove top) and reduce until the sauce thickens.”

Remove it from the heat and stir in half of the cheese, then season carefully and leave it to cool slightly.

Cut about a third of the pastry from the block. Dust a clean work surface with flour and roll both pieces of pastry out evenly with a floured rolling pin to the thickness of a pound coin.

Butter an appropriately sized pie dish then line with the larger sheet, leaving the edges dangling over the sides.

Tip (pour or spoon) the stew into your pastry lined dish and even it out before sprinkling the remaining cheese over it.

Brush the edges of the pastry with a little beaten egg.

Cut the other rolled sheet of pastry to fit the top of the pie dish and criss-cross lightly with a sharp knife. Place it over the top of the pie and fold the overhanging pastry on to the pastry lid to make it look nice and rustic.

Brush the top with beaten egg then bake the pie directly on the bottom of the oven for 45 minutes until the pastry is cooked puffed and golden.

Allergy season in the San Fernando Valley is, by far, my least favorite time of year. It’s now been a month since my spring-time symptoms kicked in, and I’ve been feeling pretty lousy the entire time: Itchy and watery eyes, non-stop sneezing, postnasal drip (with congestion, which I don’t understand), loss of smell, and the worst part, for me, are those dreadful hours when I loose my sense of taste.

I’m currently taking two different prescription medications that definitely help ease the symptoms, but living with three dogs (who sleep in the bed) only adds to the problem. Peter and I will never get rid of our dogs (aka our “kids”), and honestly, most of the time I just feel really grateful that seasonal allergies are my only health issues.

But last week, on top of dealing with my sensitive sinus problems, I came down with a nasty, head cold. I didn’t even know it was a cold for the first few days because I hadn’t had a good night sleep in weeks, and already felt drained and depressed. I tried to shake the blues by drinking extra cups of green tea, reading my current favorite book on the sunny porch out front, and also by taking extra walks with the pups.

When I woke up Thursday morning still feeling gloomy, I suddenly remembered that one thing that was missing from my days. Talking aloud to myself (with my dogs tucked in snugly beside me), I sat up in bed and said, “cook, stupid”.

Because I was suffering from both allergies and a head cold, I hadn’t cooked a proper meal all week. Hot tea and cereal for breakfast, cold meds for lunch and “frozen entrées” for dinner. No wonder I felt like crap. Physically, I wasn’t getting any real nutrition, and I’d forgotten to do the one thing every day that makes my spirits soar.

I then decided to make one of my very favorite, super EASY one pan meals. Greek Lemon Chicken with Roasted Garlic and Potatoes. I first had it when I visited friends in the Greek Islands over twenty years ago, and it’s always a comforting plate of food. And as you can imagine, I felt amazingly better after just one bite.

Cut tops of garlic (be careful) to expose cloves, and set face up in pan.

Next add olive oil, the juice of 2 lemons, then rub over everything.

Make sure there’s a nice coating of oil on the bottom of pan, so the chicken doesn’t stick.

Add oregano, salt and pepper. Coat everything in the pan.

Add the last two lemon halves in pan and let bake with the other ingredients.

Now, turn chicken pieces so the skin in facing down on the pan bottom.

Cook for about 90 minutes total:
After 30 minutes, carefully remove hot pan from oven and gently turn over the chicken pieces so the skin is facing UP. This way you’ll get a nice, crispy and flavorful skin.

At the same time, turn over the potatoes and then place back in oven for 60 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

To serve: After the garlic heads have cooled, you can pop out each roasted clove with a knife and serve the sweet, mushy cloves on top of the chicken. Or, do what I did and serve the entire half of the clove itself. They’re delicious smashed into the potatoes or added to warm, crusty bread as well. The extra lemon halves (now soft and baked) can be eaten too. Enjoy.

Note: The dish is terrific on it’s own, but it’s even better with a Horiatiki Salata (classic Greek country salad). I didn’t think to get the Greek salad ingredients at the market that day, so I tossed together a side dish with things I had at home: clementines, fresh green beans, and roasted beets.

If you’re searching for a St. Patrick’s Day supper recipe (or a hearty meal to warm your spirits), this is a delicious alternative to the traditional pot of corned beef and cabbage, especially if you’re a “meat pie” lover like me.

The recipe is from Jamie Oliver’s terrific cookbook “Jamie at Home”, which coincides with his show on Food Network. The episode with this recipe is called “Pastry”, in case you haven’t seen it yet.

This dish is now a St. Paddy’s Day tradition in our house, and it’s always a hit with friends and family.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a large ovenproof pan, heat a glug of olive oil on a low heat. Add the onions and fry them gently for about ten minutes – try not to color them too much.

Turn up the heat add the garlic, butter, carrots, celery, jalapenos and scatter in the mushrooms. Mix everything together before stirring in the beef, rosemary, a pinch of slat and a level teaspoon of pepper.

Fry fast for 3 or 4 minutes, then pour in one bottle of Guinness, stir in the flour and add just enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan with a lid and place in the preheated oven for about one (1) and 1/2 hours.

Remove the pan from the oven and give the stew a stir. Put it back in to the oven and continue to cook it for another hour or until the meat is very tender and the stew is rich dark and thick.(I added another half bottle of Guinness at this point).

Jamie notes: “A perfect pie filling needs to be robust, so if it’s still quite liquidy, place the pan on the hob (stove top) and reduce until the sauce thickens.”

Remove it from the heat and stir in half of the cheese, then season carefully and leave it to cool slightly.

Cut about a third of the pastry from the block. Dust a clean work surface with flour and roll both pieces of pastry out evenly with a floured rolling pin to the thickness of a pound coin.

Butter an appropriately sized pie dish then line with the larger sheet, leaving the edges dangling over the sides.

Tip (pour or spoon) the stew into your pastry lined dish and even it out before sprinkling the remaining cheese over it.

Brush the edges of the pastry with a little beaten egg.

Cut the other rolled sheet of pastry to fit the top of the pie dish and criss-cross lightly with a sharp knife. Place it over the top of the pie and fold the overhanging pastry on to the pastry lid to make it look nice and rustic.

Brush the top with beaten egg then bake the pie directly on the bottom of the oven for 45 minutes until the pastry is cooked puffed and golden.

This is an easy José Andrés recipe that I saw on “A Moveable Feast with America’s Favorite Chefs” last weekend. You don’t even need to write down a grocery list really… it’s just pork, salt and your favorite herbs.

Andrés used parsley, thyme and rosemary in his original recipe. I love sage with pork, so I used that and a little parsley. The pork loin was really juicy, delicious and tender, even when I grilled up leftovers for lunch today.

In a large bowl, mix the salt with 3 tablespoons water until the salt is slightly damp. The salt should be moist so it packs well. (As noted in the comments below by Reina Romero, the 3 tablespoons of water was not sufficient. If you feel you need more than the 3 tablespoons, just keep adding a little water at a time so the water packs together and doesn’t fall apart in your hands.)

Spread half of the salt on a sheet tray and lay 2 sprigs of the rosemary and the parsley and 3 sprigs of thyme on top of the salt.

Place the pork loin on top of the herbs. Lay the remaining herbs on top of the pork loin and cover the pork completely with the remaining salt, making sure to pack the salt in well around the pork.

Bake for 25 minutes.Remove the pork and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Using a fork and spoon, crack open the side of the salt crust. The upper half of the salt, now a hard shell, should lift off easily.Transfer the pork to cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.

Slice the loin into half-inch slices and arrange on four plates.

Lay slices of jamón in between pork slices. Drizzle with some olive oil and serve.

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Favorite Quote:

“One of the delights of life is eating with friends, second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends.”
Author Laurie Colwin